The ability to recognize differences in the shapes and sizes of various objects is not innate or inherent but must be acquired. This is best taught at an early age by play, for the most effective toy for a child is one which instructs as well as entertains the player.
A classic toy serving to teach a child how to distinguish between objects which differ in shape, color and size, provides a player with a set of diverse geometric objects and a playing board having apertures therein. Each aperture in the board has a geometry which corresponds to only one of the pieces in the set. Hence when a player seeks to fit a triangular piece into an aperture, by trial and error he finds the one aperture in the board that will accept the triangular piece. The child in playing with this toy must take size into account. Thus if an aperture on the board is a circular opening with a one inch diameter, it will not accept a circular disc having a one-and-a-half inch diameter.
An infant who occupies a crib or a carriage is incapable of manipulating geometric pieces to play with the above described toy. However, this infant has powers of observation. Hence if geometric objects that differs in shape, size and color are collectively displayed, the infant is then able to discern the significant features among these objects. This is particularly true if the collection of objects is not in a static state and the objects are animated so that they can each be seen in the round.
Since the invention relates to a mobile, of prior art interest are the art mobiles created by Alexander Calder. These can be seen in major museums of modern art.
In a Calder mobile, colored sheet metal pieces having different geometries dangle from an armature that is supported from a ceiling; the pieces being free to swing. The distribution of the pieces and their relative weights are such that in a static state the armature is balanced and the mobile then appears to be a work of abstract sculpture. But the balance is upset by natural air currents flowing in the space occupied by the mobile. These currents impinge on the sheet metal pieces and cause them to sway, thereby animating the mobile. Calder has also created works in which the geometric pieces are maintained in fixed positions, this being referred to as stabiles.
A toy mobile in accordance with the invention is not activated by air currents in the manner of a Calder mobile but is motor driven causing three-dimensional geometric objects to undergo complex motions.
Other prior art toy mobiles comprise one or more articles fitted at an end of an arm, either static where motion is obtained by air current, or rotatable about a fixed axis by a motor.